German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday. A half‑hour was set aside for their bilateral conversation.
Only minutes earlier, Merz had addressed the conference in a speech that reminded the United States of the importance of the transatlantic defense alliance. “We Europeans understand how precious the trust on which NATO is founded is. In an era of great powers, the United States will also rely on this trust” he said. “Even the United States reaches the limits of its own power when it acts alone”.
Merz then repeated this portion of his otherwise German‑language speech in English, speaking directly to the United States. He added that Pentagon strategists are already aware of NATO’s significance.
